The KTM 125 Duke is the entry-level motorcycle in the KTM naked range, aimed at first-time riders or older riders with little experience at the handlebars. Currently, it shares a lot with the Husqvarna Svartpilen 125, with the same mechanical base. For the electric versions, KTM E-Duke and Husqvarna E-Pilen there will also be family genetics.
In an investor presentation from Pierer Mobility AG – parent of KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas – the basic features of the new electric versions are detailed. The E-Pilen and E-Duke will have a nominal 10kW/13.6hp electric motor, so they fall squarely in the A1 or L3e category, exactly like the 125cc single-cylinder versions. Perhaps there is a moped version of E-Pilen, that is, L5e, and from 15 years in our country.
Both models will have a 5.5 kWh battery pack not designed for swapping, unlike the KTM E10 and Freeride E LV. The starting point is evident, the Husqvarna E-Pilen Concept prototype presented in 2021. KTM introduced its first electric motorcycles at the beginning of the last decade.
The prototype is usually very respected when it comes to motorcycles, so we can expect a central engine with a toothed belt on the rear wheel and the battery pack placed in the center of the chassis and below the false tank. The frame aims to remain tubular, as in the current 125 of both brands and the rest of the Duke range.
At the time the arrival on the market was announced in 2022, there may be some delay this year because the presentation indicates that its output is “TBD” (pending definition) in both cases. The price margin is also unknown, although if they go up a lot in price it will cost a little to place them on the market. The recommended price of the KTM 125 Duke gasoline is 5,149 euros, the highest part of its category.
You should not expect them to be cheap bikes despite their Asian origin, since the components that both KTM and Husqvarna mount are not the cheapest in their class. Pierre Group considers that the demand for L3e electric motorcycles -with an A1 license- will increase a lot this decade, but about fatter motorcycles (390 Duke upwards) the shots are more for synthetic fuels and keeping the two-cylinder engines and tetracylindrical.
